Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
11:24
Measuring DNA Damage and Repair in Mouse Splenocytes After Chronic In Vivo Exposure to Very Low Doses of Beta- and Gamma-Radiation
Published on: July 3, 2015
[Radiosensitivity: evidence of an individual factor]
Nicolas Foray1, Catherine Colin, Michel Bourguignon
1Inserm, UMR 1052, Groupe de Radiobiologie, Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, 28, rue Laennec, 69008 Lyon, France. nicolas.foray@inserm.fr
Medecine Sciences : M/S
|April 30, 2013
Summary
Individual differences in stress responses, including to radiation, are well-accepted but historically neglected in radiobiology. This concept is now crucial for personalized medicine and assessing risks from medical radiation exposures.
Area of Science:
- Radiobiology
- Personalized Medicine
- Medical Physics
Context:
- The concept of individual variability in biological responses, termed 'idiosyncrasy' historically, is recognized across medical research.
- Claude Bernard highlighted individual differences in physiological responses in the 19th century.
- The specific response of individuals to radiation, akin to other stressors, is a well-established principle.
Purpose:
- To re-emphasize the significance of individual variability in radiobiology.
- To bridge the historical neglect of individual response factors in radiation research.
- To highlight the relevance of individual response variations in current medical applications.
Summary:
- Radiobiology has historically overlooked the well-accepted principle that individuals exhibit unique responses to stressors, including radiation.
- This individual factor, recognized since antiquity and by 19th-century science, is now resurfacing in critical medical discussions.
- The neglect of personalized radiation response has implications for understanding adverse effects and cancer risks.
Impact:
- Revives the importance of individual variability in radiation biology.
- Informs the development of personalized medicine approaches in radiation therapy.
- Enhances risk assessment for adverse reactions and secondary cancers following medical radiation exposure.
Related Concept Videos
02:59Biological Effects of Radiation
All radioactive nuclides emit high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves. When this radiation encounters living cells, it can cause heating, break chemical bonds, or ionize molecules. The most serious biological damage results when these radioactive emissions fragment or ionize molecules. For example, α and β particles emitted from nuclear decay reactions possess much higher energies than ordinary chemical bond energies. When these particles strike and penetrate matter, they produce ions...
01:18Other Unique Bacteria
Magnetic bacteria exhibit a directed movement called magnetotaxis, driven by structures called magnetosomes. These magnetosomes consist of chains of magnetic particles made of either magnetite (Fe₃O₄) or greigite (Fe₃S₄) and are organized in a linear conformation by a protein scaffold within invaginations of the cell membrane. The bacteria align along the north–south magnetic field lines, much like a compass needle. They are typically microaerophilic or anaerobic and are commonly found near the...
01:17Radiation: Applications
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...
01:28Isotopes and Radioisotopes
In the early 1900s, English chemist Frederick Soddy realized that an element could have atoms with different masses that were chemically indistinguishable. These different types are called isotopes — atoms of the same element that differ in mass. Isotopes differ in mass because they have different numbers of neutrons but are chemically identical because they have the same number of protons. Soddy was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1921 for this discovery.
An isotope containing more...
An isotope containing more...
01:25Dose-Response Relationship: Selectivity and Specificity
Drugs exert their therapeutic effects by interacting with receptors, enzymes, or ion channels that are present throughout the human body. The strength and duration of the interaction between a drug and its target receptor are characterized by the selectivity and specificity of the drug. Selectivity refers to a drug's strong preference for its intended target over other targets. For instance, isoprenaline, a non-selective β-adrenergic agonist, interacts with both β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors...
01:16Drug toxicity: Idiosyncratic Reactions
Idiosyncratic drug reactions represent abnormal chemical responses that vary significantly among individuals, ranging from extreme sensitivity to low doses to insensitivity to high doses. These reactions often occur due to the drug's covalent binding with serum proteins, forming a foreign hapten that triggers an immunotoxicological response. The variability in drug reactions has a strong pharmacogenetic foundation, with genetic differences crucial in how individuals metabolize drugs. For...